


What we used to be

by Wefwar



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2020-02-29 14:01:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 19,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18779722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wefwar/pseuds/Wefwar
Summary: Penelope is at a party and sees Josie dancing with a new guy. Unable to contain her jealousy, she leaves but as always she can't just run from Josie.The story of how Josie and Penelope decided to rebuilt their friendship, even though they both knew they were in love.





	1. I've had a little bit too much

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Penelope is jealous of Josie and a new guy even though she doesn't have the right to be.

Penelope looked around, gritting her teeth. As much as she loved parties, she couldn't do anything to enjoy that particular one. Probably because mere meters away from her, Josie and some tall, bulky dude were having the time of their lives. She had never seen the guy before, from what she had gathered, he was new. Like, just-arrived-at-school new. It didn't stop her from hating him immediately after his eyes landed on the shorter Saltzman twin.  
  
She squinted her eyes, trying to focus her drunk mind on the boy as he grabbed Josie's waist and pulled her in, the girl's arms locking around his neck. Penelope saw her laughing and even though the music was too loud to hear anything, she knew the sound by heart. The vibrations it sent through her when she was pressing soft kisses on Josie's neck, the joy it brought to her heart.  
  
Penelope turned clumsily on her heel, almost falling in the process and started pushing her way through the crowd, as far away from the couple as she could. She knew it wasn't her place to be jealous. For god's sake, she dumped Josie. They were supposed to hate each other's guts and the other girl fulfilled her part just fine. She despised Penelope and everything associated with her, which Penelope understood completely. It didn't stop her from hurting though.  
  
"Why so gloomy, she-devil?" Penelope glared at Lizzie who was slowly sipping her drink while watching Raphael and Hope from afar.  
  
"I don't have the energy for this," she said, grabbing an entire bottle from the counter. The room was swimming in front of her eyes, just as Lizzie's face. The blonde looked at her with a frown.  
  
"Seriously? Not even a little? That's new," Penelope decided to ignore her and turned to leave the building. She felt like she was suffocating and bantering with Lizzie, although enjoyable, was not the best way to fight the drunken state she was in.  
  
"Just leave me alone," she muttered, popping the bottle open and stumbling out the kitchen door. People were everywhere, but it didn't bother her for once. Thanks to them, she didn't have any chance of stumbling and falling to the ground. It didn't make her any less lonely though and it almost made her cry.  
If she wasn't so selfish, she could've been right there, with Josie in her arms, laughing at her jokes.  
If she hadn't broken up with Josie, the girl wouldn't treat her like the actual devil and they would still be happy together.  
  
It was what she tried to tell herself every time her thoughts drifted off to Josie, what as much as she didn't like to admit it, happened very often. Too often.  
Deep down, she knew they weren't happy. She knew that Josie's devotion and selflessness when it came to her twin and a relationship left the girl little to no time for herself. So she cut one of the strings that were weighing her down, having had no idea that when she did it, the other one became even more unbearable for the girl.  
Then she found out about the Merge and staying away and letting Josie figure everything out on her own stopped being an option. She had to take action, show Josie that being strong and confident wasn't sin before it was too late.  
  
And every time she tried, Josie seemed to get even madder and hate her even more. It was a small price to pay so the girl could have a decent, long life but it didn't make Penelope's actions any easier. It didn't stop her from hurting either.  
So she made the best decision possible. She decided to leave Salvatore's School for Young and Gifted and help Josie from afar. Her mother's new job was a perfect opportunity. From what she read in Alaric's diary, Josie's mother wasn't in Belgium yet and seemed to not have any idea of going there yet. So Penelope was going to arrive there first, search for any possible leads and then share them with Caroline.  
Truthfully, it was just another excuse for leaving. Not having to see Josie again. Letting go of the pain.  
  
She started climbing the stairs, clenching the bottle in her left hand and gripping the rails with her right. The world was still swirling around in her eyes, the sounds and faces becoming a huge mess. One foot after the other, she slowly made her way to a wooden ladder situated in the most deserted place of the Mill and looked up. The hatch was wide open, allowing her to gaze at the stars visible on the navy blue sky. She cleared her throat and closed her eyes, whispering a spell underneath her breath. A second later, the bottoms of her boots hit the roof's surface, the old tiles creaking beneath her feet. She swayed slightly, fighting to regain balance and sat down next to the hatch, bringing the bottle to her mouth. The liquor burned in her throat and filled her lungs with a warmth she'd been missing so much.  
  
It used to be her and Josie's place. At every party they attended, Josie would eventually get too tired of people and they would come up and watch the stars. Penelope remembered learning all the constellations by heart just to be able to talk about them. Josie loved listening and Penelope loved making her smile so the trade was fair and square. The roof was their safe place and the very thought made her feel sick.  
  
Because here she was, drunk, alone and broken, unable to tell Josie that she was leaving in less than a month. She laughed at the thought. For the past weeks, she'd been trying to convince Josie how important it was to stand up for herself and be strong. And here she was, covering and hiding from the truth.  
   
And the truth was she still loved her. And it was unlikely she was going to stop soon.  
  
The truth sucked.  
  
She took another swing out of the bottle, knowing that she was at the brink of being totally wasted. It didn't seem to matter. She could just make a potion in the morning to stop the headache and all the unpleasant symptoms that were associated with hangover. The feeling of numbness was worth the suffering later on.  
  
She jumped when the ladder started moving next to her, the creaking of it effectively startling her. Frowning, she looked at the figure coming up the steps and felt her heart stop.  
  
Josie was too focused on not tripping to notice her and Penelope was too stunned to make her look up at her. Instead, she slid back, making room for the girl. The movement caused Josie to glance at her and almost lose her footing at the ladder's wooden steps.  
  
"Hi," Penelope muttered drunkenly, squinting to focus on the shocked girl's face. Josie was frozen in place. "Would be nice if you said it back..."  
  
"You're not allowed to tell me what would be nice," she growled, making a quick decision and walking up to the roof. Penelope laughed humorlessly and raised the bottle again.  
  
"You're probably right. I did you dirty but it's not like you are better," she mumbled after swallowing the alcohol. Josie looked at her furiously.  
  
"Really? Why would you say that? Because I'm not as selfish as you are?!" there it was. The hatred Josie was spilling every time she talked to her.  
  
"I'm talking about the kiss. The mixed signals you're sending."  
  
"You were the one who kissed me!" defended Josie. Penelope just shrugged.  
  
"Maybe. But did you back out? Let's face it, I'm not over you just as much as you're not over me," Penelope kept on talking, the alcohol in her veins being the liquid courage she needed to be actually open with her feelings. "Well, maybe not as much, but it's still there. Your feelings for me are real and it looks like they're not about to go away."  
  
"Why are you doing this?" hissed Josie. "Why are you telling me I'm giving you mixed signals and then speak like that?"  
  
"I dunno honestly," she admitted in a small voice, her grip around the bottle loosened and it fell out of it. She immediately leaned forward in an attempt to grab it, save it from damnation. But her reflexes were slowed down by the alcohol and her balance was shaken up. Like in slow motion, she felt herself losing ground and falling forward, not able to hold onto anything. Before she could fall, long fingers locked around her elbow and yanked her backward, saving her from the fall.  
  
"Jesus Christ!" Josie's big, brown eyes were staring down at her with fear and relief mixed together.  
  
"Penelope's enough," she slurred, laughing underneath her breath. Josie didn't even move, still looking at her carefully.  
  
"This is not funny! You could've..."  
  
"Don't act like you would care. It would be just another problem off of your head."  
  
"What do you... you know what, doesn't matter, you're too drunk to be thinking clearly," Josie seemed desperate to believe it and Penelope understood why.  
  
"Maybe, yeah. I am drunk but studies show that drunk people are more likely to be open about their feelings and care less about the consequences of their actions."  
  
"And what would those be?"  
  
"The consequences?" Josie nodded and sat down next to her, still holding her elbow in a deadly grip as if she was afraid that letting go of her would make her fall again. Penelope was sure she already did all the dangerous falling. She fell for Josie. "You never talking to me again, letting your hate for me cloud the affection, for example."  
  
"I already hate you."  
  
"I know. But you talk to me, even if it's just yelling" Penelope shrugged as if it was common knowledge. "I'm taking whatever I can get."  
  
"That's... sad," muttered Josie and there was a pity in her eyes Penelope didn't want to see. So she turned around to the stars instead. "But you were the one who broke up with me, remember?" It was as if when Josie couldn't think of anything else to say she would stick to the safe and practiced. It was like a defense mechanism and Penelope pained how much credit it could take in their relationship's destruction.  
  
"You may not know or understand why I did everything I did but you will, eventually," she said, sending Josie a broken smile. The girl exchanged it for an unimpressed look, her full lips pressing together into a thin line.  
  
"What's that even supposed to mean?"  
  
"You'll know," Penelope clenched her jaw, forcing herself to look at the stars once again instead of the lost and angry girl next to her.  
  
"I don't get you, you know?" that spiked Penelope's interest enough to glance at Josie with the corner of her eye. "You say you don't want to be with me, you break up with me and keep on haunting me afterward. Instead of letting me go, you seem so hung up on me you can't date anyone else. All you do is to spite Lizzie and me. It's like you're devoted to making our lives miserable and that only," they sat in quiet for a while, Josie breathing heavily next to her in order to calm herself down as Penelope chewed on her lip, trying to find something to say. She settled on the truth.  
  
"I broke up with you and not because of lack of affection," she eventually admitted. "I broke up with you because taking care of Lizzie took all your love and energy. And when we started dating? You didn't have time for anything else other than our relationship, school, and Lizzie. I wanted to make you think of yourself for once. I hoped that if I dumped you, you'd learn how to be at least slightly selfish. Instead, you started giving Lizzie 150 percent, forgetting about your own needs completely." Josie stared at her with eyes wide open and mouth slightly ajar, frozen in astonishment.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me that before?"  
  
"Because you wouldn't let me go," answered Penelope truthfully, noticing a glimpse of something warm in Josie's eyes. "And I wasn't drunk then," she added, laughing raspily. Josie's grip on her elbow tightened.  
  
"You keep on trying to convince me how selfish you are... and yet everything you do, _did,_ was supposed to elevate me," Josie sounded so surprised that Penelope couldn't help but feel the pang of sadness. She spent the last weeks trying to convince Josie how heartless she could be and when she finally succeeded, she didn't even feel like celebrating.  
  
"Don't get me wrong, there was selfishness in all this as well. I broke up with you because you always dismissed our relationship. Lizzie was always the most important for you and I knew it. So, I decided to break us off before  I got too attached. Didn't expect it to be so easy to fall for you, though."  
  
"I'm sorry," mumbled Josie after a few seconds had passed. "I'm sorry for all the pain I put you through, even if I didn't know about how you were hurting. I should've seen it. I was just so busy with..."  
  
"Lizzie," Penelope finished for her, snorting. "I know. She sucks the air out of you and I hope you'll notice that before it's too late," she considered the conversation over and stood up, a little too quickly for her drunk mind's taste. She stumbled forward and this time, Josie wasn't ready to catch her, too busy dealing with what she had heard.  
  
Penelope felt the wind's rush and the creaking of old, wooden tiles as she slid down the roof, toward the inevitable fall. It would only take her a word to freeze in place and go back to Josie's side. But she couldn't find the right one to say. All the spells were flying around in her head, not making any sense and making her even sicker. So she let herself fall, thinking about how badly she could be injured in the process. The Old Mill was a high building but if she was lucky, she could walk out with just a broken bone or two. It seemed a lot less scary than it should be.  
  
"Penelope!" the scream caused her to shift as she reached the end of the roof, just in time to see Josie's frightened expression. Then the Old Mill disappeared from underneath her.  
  
She closed her eyes, bracing for the impact but it never came. Instead, she felt a pair of warm, familiar arms wrapping around her waist and holding her onto a soft body. Josie's perfume enveloped her into a comfortable cloud of scent and sense as she buried her face in Josie's neck.  
  
" _Recidisset in praesidio_!" was another thing coming out of the taller girl's lips. Penelope let out a relieved breath as she felt them stopping in mid-air and slowly lifted her eyelids. They were hovering about a meter above the ground, surrounded by their peers on the front porch.  
  
"It's Josie!"  
  
"Yeah, and Penelope."  
  
"What the hell are they doing?"  
  
"Are you guys okay?" Hope approached them, helping Josie put Penelope on the ground and then holding her up when she started swaying dangerously.  
  
"Fine," muttered Penelope, swatting her hands away. Hope rolled her eyes but let her go and turned to Josie.  
  
"We're good. I think I'm gonna take her to her room. Before Lizzie sees us," she said in a rush, gripping Penelope's waist once more. The shorter girl melted into the embrace, smiling involuntarily. Hope laughed at the bliss spreading across her face.  
  
"You should hurry then," she muttered, noticing a familiar blonde-haired devil across from them. Penelope's nose scrunched at the mention of the other Saltzman twin and yanked Josie's hand like a small child begging to leave. The taller girl obeyed and started pulling her toward the campus.


	2. The truth we hide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josie walks Penelope back to school and on the way, some wrongs are made right as some truths are said.  
> There is also some bed-sharing fluff.

The walk back was like an intense, twenty minutes work-out for Josie. Dragging a drunk, exhausted Penelope across the woods, making her pay attention to every low-hanging branch, roots sticking out of the muddy ground and hard-to-miss tree trunks, was like leading a child through a crowded amusement park without losing them. Near impossible.  
  
"Thanks for catching me. And putting up with me. I know I'm not in my best shape."  
  
"You think so?" Josie bit back, immediately regretting the unnecessary venom in her voice. "I'm sorry."  
  
"Nah, I deserved that. More than that, even," the shorter girl muttered. Josie tightened her grip around Penelope's waist and let out a long breath.  
  
"No you don't, you just tried to help me. In your own, evil way," Penelope cracked her a smile and leaned even more on her, resting her head on Josie's shoulder with a tired sigh. "It's true what you said, you know? About Lizzie and I."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah, maybe I'm a little too set on her good and forget about mine too often," Penelope glanced up at her with a soft smile. "I'm sorry it came in between us," she added before she could change her mind. Because she really was sad about how it all played out. How the things between them ended, that they ended. She was still in love with Penelope and there was no denying that. But she could still feel the pang of her broken heart every time she saw Penelope or heard her name. It hurt.  
  
"Yeah, I'm sorry about it too," muttered the shorter girl. They left the woods and were now walking on the smooth, even surface of one of the pavements. Josie could see the school's lights in the distance. "Maybe if I fought for you more, it wouldn't end like that. God, we really are messed up, aren't we?" Penelope laughed, moving away from Josie. She couldn't help but miss the heat radiating from the shorter girl when she left her arms.  
  
"I guess," she followed Penelope, making sure she wouldn't fall on her wobbly legs. Josie had no idea how much the girl had to drink but judging by her state, she guessed much more than she should have.  
  
"Do you think we could try again?" Penelope asked all of sudden, almost making Josie trip on her own feet. The taller girl looked at her with a surprise on her face. "Yeah, you're right it's a stupid idea."  
  
"I didn't say anything yet," Josie argued despite her best judgment. Penelope looked up at her with hope visible in the green eyes. "I think we can try, at least. To be friends."  
  
"Friends," Penelope said the word slowly as if testing how it felt. "That's new, I've never been put in the friend-zone before."  
  
"Well, I hope your fragile ego can take it," said Josie with a smile.  
  
"Can you take it though?" Penelope's voice was clear of any kind of accusation or maliciousness. She sounded simply worried and it made Josie feel weird things.  
  
"Being friends with you? Why wouldn't I be able to do it?"  
  
"I think you know why," and Josie knew. She was still in love with Penelope and the feeling was mutual. The possibility of them being in a platonic relationship that wasn't based on hate and distaste was lower than zero. And yet, Josie was willing to try, fully realizing that the only thing it could bring was pain. But after hearing all the reasons Penelope had for breaking up with her, somehow the wound in her heart became less relevant. Because Penelope didn't choose to break up with her for fun or to hurt her. She wanted to make her more independent and strong. "Looks like we're here." Josie looked around with surprise. Somehow she didn't even notice when they got to the school's building. Penelope's walking was much more stable thanks to the short stroll and Josie wasn't really needed anymore. The shorter girl, although not completely sober, was perfectly fine to go to her room without an escort.  
  
"I guess..." she muttered, biting on her lower lip.  
  
"Walk me to my room?" proposed Penelope. Josie noticed that, just like her, Penelope didn't want the night to end.  
  
"Sure," it was a dangerous game they were playing. Not being able to leave each other, exchanging soft glances and delicate touches. That's how everything started. Josie didn't have the willpower to stop it though. "So, care to tell me what you were doing at the roof?"  
  
"Drinking cheap booze," Penelope's answer was immediate like she had it prepared in advance. "Looking at the stars. Thinking."  
  
"What were you thinking about?"  
  
"How it used to be our spot," said Penelope truthfully. "How I learned all the constellations for our dates."  
  
"I remember that. I said I didn't suspect you to be such a romantic," Josie laughed and her voice carried through the empty halls.  
  
"I didn't expect me to be such a romantic either. I guess you just bring out the best in me," Penelope smiled once more and started going up the stairs leading to her dorm. Josie followed her, each step reminding her of all the times she used to hastily walk up them to sneak into Penelope's room. She was one of the lucky ones who got a single dorm and since there was always a chance of Lizzie walking in on them in the twins' room, they chose to spend their time in Penelope's.  
  
"I remember this dent," she said, absentmindedly tracing the scratch visible next to Penelope's door frame with her fingers.  
  
"Oh, yeah. I had a bruise on my back for the next week."  
  
"I've already said I'm sorry for that."  
  
"Hey, I don't blame you," assured her Penelope, putting a hand on the doorknob. Their time was running out. "It was hot to see you so confident. You wanted something and you went for it."  
  
"Pushing you into the wall and assaulting you was hardly hot," mumbled Josie, feeling her cheeks becoming red.  
  
"That's not how I saw it," whispered Penelope, taking a step forward. Josie froze in place, looking straight into the green orbs that she loved so much. "And I have to say, what happened afterward was a pleasant bonus too."  
  
"Penelope..." the words caught in her throat when the girl took another step forward. Their perfumes mixed together into a distinctive combination, just as their breath. Penelope was so close, Josie could count her eyelashes. Their eyes met again. Josie could feel the tension between them thickening even more as Penelope's eyes moved down to her lips.  
  
She didn't know who leaned in first, maybe they did at the same time.  
  
Either way, their lips met halfway, and Josie melted into the kiss almost immediately. The softness of Penelope's mouth, mixed with the bitter taste of alcohol and sweet, strawberry-flavored chapstick made Josie's senses spin around in circles. As always when she and Penelope kissed, a chill ran down her spine, shaking her entire figure. It had always been a thrilling experience and now, with all the new emotions revealed, it was even ten times more intense. Penelope bit down on Josie's lip, drawing an unintentional moan out of her throat. The innocent kiss became more in a split second as Josie tightened her grip around Penelope's neck, pulling her impossibly close. The shorter girl obliged, digging her fingers into the brunette's lower back and turning them around. Josie collided with the wooden door, letting out a sharp breath before Penelope's lips swallowed it hungrily.  
  
Somewhere in the back of her head, she knew what they were doing was wrong. For god's sake, they just agreed to being friends, in a completely platonic relationship. But Penelope was warm and unlike that new guy, Josie called dibs on, familiar. And truth be told, she didn't want to stop. All rules be damned, she wanted Penelope just for herself.  
So she silenced the little voice telling her to stop and let herself be selfish that one time.  
  
She felt Penelope's left hand leaving her side to turn the doorknob and then they stumbled into the room, a mess of kisses and shaky breaths. Josie tugged at the shorter girl's shirt, untucking it from her pants and placing her hands on the soft, warm skin. Penelope gasped into her mouth at the skin to skin contact.  
  
"Josie..." she tried but Josie spun them around and started navigating to the bed. The back of Penelope's knees hit the mattress and a second later Josie was above her, thighs pushing against her hips. "Wait..." Penelope whispered in a husky tone that made Josie's insides twitch.  
  
"What?" snapped the taller girl, clenching her jaw. Penelope sat down with Josie still in her lap.  
  
"You don't want this. You may think you do, but you don't," she said, gently pushing the girl off of her. Josie complied, a frown not leaving her face. She didn't understand how or why Penelope would stop.  
  
"You don't know what I want," Josie growled, crossing her arms over her chest and shooting Penelope a glare. The girl shrugged.  
  
"Maybe, but I know you well enough to realize how badly this could hurt you in the morning."  
  
"I need you," muttered Josie, her voice breaking at the end.  
  
"I'm here. But you know we can't..." Penelope didn't finish but they both knew what she meant. Josie let out a heavy, tired breath and nodded her head.  
  
"Yeah, you're right," she admitted.  
  
"We can cuddle?" the pureness of proposition made her giggle lightly as she looked at Penelope's gentle face. The girl was gazing at her with that delicate softness Josie believed to be reserved just for her. It warmed her heart.  
  
"Actually, I'd like that," Penelope's eyes lit up as she smiled happily. Josie looked at her and remembered that she wasn't completely sober. Her mind was clouded by the alcohol she was digesting. And somehow she still decided to stop them, having in mind how having sex could dent their relationship even more. Even drunk Penelope was thinking just about her.  
  
"Good, 'cause I always sleep better when I'm with you," said the girl matter-of-factly as she tumbled out of the bed and moved to a dresser. Josie followed her every move with her eyes, ready to intervene in case she tripped. But Penelope was perfectly fine as she took out a simple, red shirt with the school's logo printed on it's front and a pair of shorts. She tossed both things to Josie who caught them easily. "There you go, it would probably be terrible to sleep in this dress. You can change here, I won't look." Penelope promised and Josie had to bit back the comment about how it wasn't anything she hadn't seen before and got up from the mattress. Penelope, true to her words turned around, staring at the wall. Josie reached behind, for the dress' zipper and gritted her teeth when her fingers only brushed it lightly, unable to grip it fully.  
  
"You've got to be kidding me," she mumbled underneath her breath, attempting once more.  
  
"Everything okay?" Josie turned around, noticing Penelope staring at her with raised brows. She was already dressed in a t-shirt that was too big for her and a pair of shorts. She looked a lot smaller than normal.  
  
"I can't reach the zipper," Josie admitted, chewing on her lower lip. Penelope laughed and approached her in two long steps.  
  
"Well, may I?" she asked, nodding her head toward her back. Out of better options, Josie turned around, softly whispering an agreement. A second later Penelope's familiar fingers brushed against her spine, causing her breath to hitch. Warm digits slid the zipper down as Penelope's other hand pressed between her shoulder blades so the dress would stay in place. At that point, Josie found it hard to focus on anything else than the palms burning against her skin. It was another thing that Josie never fully understood but loved about Penelope. No matter how cold it was, her skin was always warm, like she was a portable heater. "There you go."  
  
"Thanks," Josie said quickly, holding the front of her dress so it wouldn't fall off of her. She didn't want to make the situation even more awkward than it already was.  
  
"No problem," Penelope yawned loudly and leaned over the bed. She threw away the covers and slid under them, letting out a contented breath as she closed her eyes. Josie smiled at the peace visible on her face and quickly took the dress off. She was tired as well, the adrenaline wearing off in her veins. She was sure that even if she wanted to, there was no way she would be able to go to her room. "You coming or not?" Josie grabbed the shirt and threw it on along with shorts before walking up to bed as well. Penelope turned to her side, leaving just enough room for Josie to fit.  
  
"It's just this once," Penelope opened her eyes at the comment and nodded her head.  
  
"Yeah, we're just friends," Josie lied down next to her, feeling her muscles relax at the touch of the soft mattress. "Do I get to be the big spoon?"  
  
"You're shorter than me," Josie reminded the brunette who just laughed.  
  
"Then I'll be your backpack," Penelope offered, gently nudging her to lie on her side. Josie obliged and a second later she was enwrapped into a pair of strong, warm arms. Her and Penelope's legs entangled together, like pieces of a puzzle finally falling to place and for the first time in months, she felt _safe._  
  
And with that feeling accompanying her, she fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After the feedback, I decided to continue the story. I have no idea where I'm going with it and most definitely don't know how many chapters there will be, so enjoy! Thank you for all the comments and kudos!  
> ~Wefwar


	3. Just let me hold you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josie has a nightmare and Penelope tries to help. She also tries to remember they are just friends.

Penelope was jerked awake by a body tossing next to her on the mattress. The bed creaked beneath them, hitting the wall when Josie jumped particularly hard, letting out a muffled cry. Her eyes were moving restlessly underneath her eyelids as she clenched her jaw and fists. Penelope quickly sat down, putting a hand on the girl's arm and shaking it lightly.

"JoJo, c'mon, wake up," she whispered. "It's just a dream, you're okay, I'm here!" her moves became frantic as Josie's mouth opened and rushed words flew out of it. 

"No, mom, please don't," the girl mumbled, twitching on the bed nervously. One of her hands flew up to Penelope's face and knocked her straight in the jaw, sending a flash of pain through her body. Penelope flinched and caught Josie's wrists, pinning them to the mattress and straddling the girl's hips to keep her from moving. 

"Josie, Josie calm down!" she begged, noticing the tears strimming down the girl's face. "It's just a dream!" she full on screamed, and that was it for Josie. Her brown eyes opened immediately, still clouded from the sleep and tears and unconsciously rested on Penelope's face. "You're safe, it's me," repeated the smaller girl, breathing out with relief and letting go of Josie's wrist. 

She understood the mistake she made a second too late. 

Josie's face twisted in anger and fear as one of her hands flew to grasp Penelope's. Her green eyes widened in surprise when she felt her power move to the place Josie was touching. Red light illuminated the room, cutting through the dark night as the girl siphoned from her. 

Next second she was flying across her room and hitting the door at full speed. She groaned when her back collided with the wooden surface and fell to her knees, gasping for breath. Black spots appeared in her vision as she attempted to straighten up.

"Oh my god, Penelope!" she shakily raised her head toward the bed from where Josie was looking at her worriedly. The girl jumped down to the floor and ran up to Penelope, falling to her knees in front of the brunette. "I'm so sorry..."

"It's okay," mumbled Penelope, feeling her head spin around. Her back was killing her and she was sure she had a minor concussion but she decided not to voice her observations. Josie looked guilty enough. "How long have you been having them?" she asked gently, letting the taller girl help her stand up. Josie immediately tensed up, clenching her jaw.

"A few days. More than a week."

"Since your birthday?" guessed Penelope and Josie just nodded slowly. 

"Yeah. Every time I close my eyes, I'm afraid I'm gonna open them and feel the dirt's weight hitting me again," they sat back down on the bed and Penelope waved her hand to switch on the light. "Now I sleep only thanks to Lizzie's calming pills."

"Have you tried talking with Ms. Tig?" 

"No. She would tell my father and he would worry," Josie shrugged and tried to crack a smile. It came out more like a broken grimace. "I'm fine, honestly."

"Somehow, I don't believe you," Penelope muttered, eyeing the girl next to her worriedly. She shifted to sit further on the bed and hissed when her injured back flamed up in protest. 

"Don't move!" warned her Josie, lifting up the hem of Penelope's shirt to take a quick glance at her back. From the sharp intake of breath, Penelope could only guess it looked as bad as it hurt. "I'm so sorry Pen, I promise I'll heal it."

"It's not as bad as it looks," Penelope lied smoothly and turned to smile at the guilty girl. "We don't have any snacks but we can turn this into a movie night. I'm in the mood for some Jaws," she slowly reached for her laptop that was laying on the nightstand. After not getting an answer, she glanced up at Josie just to notice her staring back at her with her mouth slightly ajar. "What?"

"Are you seriously ready to give up the rest of night's sleep just because of my nightmares?" Penelope frowned, not fully understanding where was the problem.

"Yes?"

"No?" countered Josie, sliding back to look at her properly. "I'm just gonna go and take some of Lizzie's pills. Then go back to sleep," Penelope saw the fear in her eyes at the very thought but she knew that going without sleep wasn't a permanent solution. Just as taking pills, it had its consequences. 

"Are you sure you wanna go to your room at three in the morning? Won't Lizzie get suspicious?" 

"She's already suspicious. She probably thinks I spent the night with Jacob," Penelope rose her eyebrows. "The new guy." 

"Right, the new guy," she repeated emptily, trying to fight past her jealousy. It wasn't her place to be jealous. "Wait a minute, I never asked you what you were doing on that roof?" 

"You know how parties get for me," Josie shrugged. "I needed a break."

"What, Jacob isn't as fun as you thought?" Penelope didn't even try to hold back the mockery in her voice. 

"He's great. Just... I don't know," Josie shook her head and turned to stand up. "I'm gonna go, leave you to sleep off all the heavy drinking."

"It wasn't that bad," insisted Penelope, desperate to keep the girl in the room. "I remember everything," she muttered, biting on her lower lip. She noticed Josie's muscles tense up at the comment.

"Good. That's good," she muttered. 

"I wanted you to know I meant everything I said. When I was drunk, I mean," Penelope said quickly, before she could change her mind. "I'm sorry that's how you found out though." Josie sent her an unimpressed look.

"You're probably sorry I found out at all since you weren't going to tell me?" the hurt in Josie's voice dug into her heart like a knife.

"I was going to tell you..."

"Really? When?" Josie interrupted her, staring down at her with a frown. 

"The day I... soon," she wasn't going to tell Josie about the moving out. There was no point in that. Josie probably didn't care anyway. 

"Soon..." Josie repeated after her, shaking her head. "You know what doesn't matter. Have a good night." before she could reply, Josie left the room, shutting the door loudly after her. 

Penelope was left alone, once again. 

***

She didn't actually spend the time she had left to classes on sleeping. Her mind was way too messy for that, so after taking an aspirin for the slight headache she had after the drinking, she sat on her bed once again. She decided to ignore the discarded dress lying on the floor and got herself busy with writing a letter to Josie. 

Penelope knew there was no way she could say all the words that needed to be said before she left. Josie wouldn't probably give her enough time to do it. Of course, she wasn't going to tell Josie everything. The Merge was something she should find out about from her parents, just as the search for the cure. Netherless, Josie had the right to know that Penelope was leaving, even if she didn't care. Penelope hoped she cared.

So she took one of the notebooks that were supposedly bought to take notes in classes and started writing. When she was done, the sun was already shining through the windows at the stack of crumpled papers lying next to her. Penelope put down her pencil and ran her eyes over the final work, nodding her head at the result. She waved her hand and a single sheet of bright red paper flew her way from one of her desk's drawer. After another ten minutes, she had all the needed words neatly written down on the page. 

"Great, now I just have to give it to her and hope she'll read it," she said to herself, looking at the folded paper in her hands. "Easy."

"You're talking to yourself now?" she glared at the boy standing in the doorway. MG was staring back at her unfazed, with a cocky smile on his lips. "I heard that people who talk to themselves are more intelligent or something. Don't think that's true though." 

"Screw you," she said, throwing one of her pillows at him. He caught it easily and laughed, entering the room. 

"Not the warm welcome I was hoping for. I lost you at the party."

"Maybe you were too busy trying to take your eyes off of Lizzie?" MG frowned at the comment.

"Don't act like you weren't doing the same with Josie," he bit back. Penelope scoffed but couldn't disagree. "Guess we're both head-over-heels for the Saltzman twins." 

"I'm not..." she tried but MG's raised brow disillusioned her quickly. "Whatever, is there a reason you're here?"

"Yeah, came to check in on ya," he said, sitting down next to her. "What's all this?" he nodded toward the balls of paper lost between the sheets. Penelope snatched the one he already managed to unbend out of his hands and glared at him once more. 

"None of your business," she grumbled, sending all the writings to her bin and effectively setting it on fire. MG jumped in his spot, eyeing the flaming trash with surprise. 

"Damn, Peez! Did those papers offend you or something?" 

"You better watch yourself then," she warned him with a smile. The boy laughed and tousled her hair like a brother would ruffle his sister's before getting up. His eyes landed on the abandoned dress lying on the floor. "That's not what you think," Penelope said quickly, noticing the question in MG's eyes. "Josie just slept over." 

"And left without her dress?" 

"She had my clothes on, don't worry," her friend kept on looking at her with raised brows. "C'mon, nothing happened. We just cuddled." 

"That's dangerous, you know?" MG said, crossing his arms over his chest. Penelope rolled her eyes at that and stood up from the bed, stretching her rigid muscles. Sitting in one position for over two hours, hunched over a piece of paper, made her spine feel like a metal pipe. Her joints popped loudly and she sighed with satisfaction, moving her head in slow circles. "You can ignore me all you want but deep down you know I'm right."

"MG, you're a great friend and I love you, but one more word and I'll throw you out, no matter how strong or fast you are," she warned him sternly. Even she wasn't sure what made her so angry. Probably the fact that MG was right and deep down she realized it. She'd be damned if she admitted it, though. 

"Okay, okay, just looking out for ya," he raised his hands and took a step back in a defending gesture. "Anyway, the classes are starting in twenty. You should hurry if you wanna eat something before that," Penelope's features softened as she smiled at him.

"Thanks, MG. Means a lot that someone actually cares," the boy gave her a childlike grin, showing almost all of his teeth and put a hand on her shoulder. 

"That's what friends are for, right? We got each other's back like some Justice League," she laughed at that, putting her hand over his and squeezing his fingers. 

"Okay, before you start planning costumes for us, I actually need to get dressed and go to class, so maybe later?" she joked and he pushed her gently. 

"We'd look dope in superhero costumes. And you know it!" he yelled upon leaving. Penelope shook her head and closed the door behind him, still smiling. 

The smile disappeared from her face when her eyes landed on the red paper, still buried between the sheets. Everything she felt and wanted to tell Josie was there, along with a goodbye. She picked it up, suddenly feeling as if the simple slip of paper weighed a thousand times more and ran her eyes over the words written on it in nice cursive. 

They agreed to be friends and giving it to Josie wouldn't be a friendly gesture. It would only make things worse, probably leave them unable to keep in touch. And Penelope wasn't kidding when she told Josie she was taking what she could. If she had a shot at friendship with the girl, she wasn't going to waste it because of some irrelevant feelings. 

So she held out the letter in between her forefinger and thumb, before whispering a simple word.

The ashes were still warm when she was leaving the room, fully dressed and ready to start her day as Josie's friend. And just that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kind words and suggestions, I'll take them under my consideration since I already have an idea where I want this story to go. Love you!  
> ~Wefwar


	4. Will you catch me if I fall?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josie decides to avoid Penelope and focuses on her friendship with Jacob. She also makes sure to stop Lizzie from destroying the kitchen. Again.

"Where have you been? I've been worried sick!" Josie rolled her eyes which were still not fully open after waking up from pill-induced sleep and glanced at her sister.  
  
"I came back to the room at 3 A.M. And you were sound asleep," she noticed, throwing back the covers and sitting on the soft mattress. She immediately caught herself thinking that it was nothing compared to Penelope's warm skin.  
  
"Doesn't mean I wasn't worried!" Lizzie shouted from her place next to a mirror. "Honestly, you could've just texted me- "I'm off doing stuff with Jacob, don't wait up." And I would reply with a string of emojis which you wouldn't understand," Josie bit down on her lip, wondering whether she should tell her twin about who she really spent the night with. It would probably leave Lizzie sprawled on the floor with a small heart attack. Letting her sister create her own version and stick to it was probably safer. Especially when Josie wasn't even sure what she and Penelope were. Of course, they agreed to friends but it was far-fetched and Josie suspected that both of them didn't really believe it. But she'd be damned if she let Penelope get close to her again. She might've believed her words in the dead of night when everything seemed better and more mysterious but after thinking everything over, she decided not to believe a word Penelope had told her.   
  
The girl was known for her ability to manipulate in order to get what she wanted and Josie wasn't falling for that ever again. Being friends, which she agreed to on the spur of the moment, without fully thinking it through, was a compromise for both of them. Josie was wondering how much time it would take them to start fighting again. Or make out. Whichever came first.   
  
"What are you wearing, by the way? I haven't seen this shirt in ages," Lizzie's voice cut through her thoughts like a knife, effectively distracting her. Josie looked down at herself, biting at her lower lip. She was still dressed in Penelope's clothes, the other girl's scent raising to her nose every time she moved.   
  
"I found it at the bottom of one of my drawers," she lied smoothly, set on keeping her nightly whereabouts a secret from her sister who eyed her carefully and shrugged.   
  
"I could swear I've seen it before," the blonde muttered as Josie was looking around for her Stallion's hoodie. She didn't feel like dressing up and even if she did, there was no time for that.   
  
"Yeah, probably 'cause it's mine," she said, pulling the hoodie over Penelope's shirt and quickly shrugging of her shorts. She grabbed a pair of jeans from her chair. "Let's go, we're already late for classes," she muttered while struggling to put them on. Lizzie scoffed and picked up their bags from the floor.  
  
"Don't act like it's my fault, I've been waiting for you to get ready for the past fifteen minutes," she handed Josie her bag and they left the room.   
  
***  
  
Josie was really hoping she wouldn't have to talk to Penelope for the entire day. After the night's revelations, she was set on avoiding the girl for as long as she could, mainly because even thinking of Penelope made her feel weird things. Besides, just because they were friends again didn't mean they had to talk with each other every day, right?   
  
For the first three periods, she was successful. Not talking to Penelope turned out to be fairly easy since she was always surrounded by her other friends or reading a book in the corner, oblivious to the world. Josie wasn't sure whether the girl knew that she needed space or simply felt the same but either way she was grateful.  
  
Since Lizzie was too engrossed with trying to figure out how to get Raphael to like her, Josie spent her entire time with Jacob. She had to admit, that he was a sweet guy. His curiosity regarding everything supernational was almost childlike and Josie enjoyed answering all his questions. Their conversation had an easy flow, without the usual distance that was always present with new people and he seemed genuinely interested in her life.   
  
Josie was in the middle of leading him to the cantine and telling him about how the school was founded when she bumped into someone. She expected Jacob to catch her with his super, vampire speed but the arms that locked around her were definitely feminine. And familiar, just as the face smiling down at her.   
  
"Jesus, Josie, are you okay?" she heard Jacob's voice from next to her but she was too occupied with glaring at Penelope to answer him.   
  
"Hi, JoJo," whispered the girl softly, still leaning over her. Josie scoffed loudly.  
  
"Let me go," she grumbled, fighting against Penelope's grasp. The brunette obliged and helped her stand up before taking a step backward. Josie took her bag from Jacob who picked it up from where it landed after she crashed into Penelope and thanked him. "Jacob, this is Penelope. Penelope, Jacob." she introduced them quickly, noticing a flash of something dark in the girl's eyes. Before she could focus on it though, it was already gone.   
  
"And I'm Pedro!" Josie looked down at the smiling little boy standing next to Penelope. She didn't notice his presence before.  
  
"Nice to meet you, Pedro, Penelope!" said Jacob with a wide smile. Penelope offered him a smirk and shook his outstretched hand. Pedro mimicked her movement and Josie couldn't help but think how cute it was.  
  
"You too, Jacob," Josie noticed how there was nothing inviting in her voice but decided to let it go. Penelope was probably still hungover and sore after she was thrown into the wall. She had a full right to be slightly unpleasant.   
  
"Yeah, anyway we were on our way to lunch so..." Josie was interrupted by Jacob's chirpy voice.  
  
"You can come with us?" both girls looked at him with disbelief. "What? Not a good idea?"   
  
"As nice as that is, we have places to be," Penelope declined, grabbing Pedro's hand and walking around them. Josie noticed how stiff she was and felt another pang of guilt.  "Have fun though," with that she took off down the corridor, not waiting for an answer. Pedro smiled at them one more time over his shoulder before disappearing around the corner. Jacob looked after them with a frown.  
  
"Did I say something wrong?" he sounded genuinely concerned by that and Josie couldn't help but smile.   
  
"No, of course not. Penelope and I just have a history," Jacob raised his brows at that. "It's complicated."  
  
"I bet," he said, nodding his head. "So, we going to the lunch or not?" Josie was thankful for the change of topic. She didn't want to stain her growing friendship with Jacob by talking about her problems regarding Penelope.   
  
"Sure we are, I'm starving," she led him down the halls. "Anyway, I didn't ask you yet, how is your first day at Salvatore's going so far?"   
  
"Interesting, for sure," the boy admitted as they entered the cantine. Voices mixed there together, creating one, huge noise that made Josie's skin crawl. It was like walking into a beehive. "I've met a few other vampires, some witches. Werewolves seem a little distant."  
  
"Well, everybody tries to get along with everybody but it doesn't always work. Dad makes sure that nobody has to suffer because of our differences," Jacob thought for a second before snapping his fingers.   
  
"The principal, right. I almost forgot. Probably 'cause you don't strike me as a principal's daughter type," he scratched the back of his head and gave her an embarrassed smile.   
  
"There is a type like that?"   
  
"You know, prissy princesses who think they deserve the world and rule the school."  
  
"Well,  I can assure you that neither me or Lizzie are like that," she laughed and he joined her. "Dad taught us that since we're his daughters, we need to be the best versions of ourselves."  
  
"That's smart. Wish the girls at my previous school knew that," Jacob commented. Josie looked at him with surprise but didn't voice it. Instead, she waved at MG to approach them. The boy smiled at the sight of her and walked up to them with a happy bounce in his steps.   
  
"Hi, Josie! Jacob, good to see you again man!"  
  
"You guys know each other already?" Josie wasn't really surprised. MG was always the first vampire to introduce himself to a new student. He was probably the friendliest and most gullible of all the teenagers at the school. People mostly loved him for that.  
  
"Sure! Jacob is one of us, I had to greet him properly," MG said like it was obvious. Josie opened her mouth to reply when she heard her phone buzzing in her pocket. She took it out and let out a tired breath when she saw it was Lizzie.  
  
"Sorry guys, I have to go."  
  
"What about our lunch?" asked her Jacob, disappointment evident in his voice. Josie smiled apologetically.  
  
"We'll have to reschedule. Family drama," she explained swiftly before turning on her heel to exit the cantine. She could feel the hunger rumble in her stomach but she fought through it and quickly made her way to the kitchen.  
  
Lizzie was standing in the middle of the room, her hands clenched into fists and her eyes tightly shut. Every plate and piece of cutlery was vibrating at high frequency in its spot, creating a cacophony of noise. Josie got a feeling similar to the one present before a storm. The weird anticipation mixed with a tenseness that gripped everyone before a catastrophe occurred.    
  
Normally, people would turn around and shelter themselves before lighting could reach them. They would make the selfish move, choose to save themselves.   
  
But of course, Josie settled for the selfless act, walking straight into the middle of the storm to try and calm it.   
  
"Lizzie, Lizzie hey!" she grabbed her sister's arms, squeezing them to get her to listen. The blonde's eyes snapped wide open, blue irises looking around with anger flaming in them. "I need you to try and match my breathing as well as you can, okay?" she asked, matching her calm breathing to Lizzie's hectic one and gradually slowing it down.  
  
It was a trick she learned from Ms. Tig when she was younger. The woman told her that people suffering from the kind of attacks her sister did, often wouldn't be able to calm themselves down by simply trying to slow their breathing. They needed to copy someone else's movements in order to do that. They needed an example set for them. After seven years of helping Lizzie, Josie became an expert.   
  
It took the blonde longer than usual to calm down. The first sign was the disappearing tremble of all the utilities surrounding them. Then, Lizzie's fists unclenched and rested against her thighs and by the time her jaw loosened, Josie was already letting out a breath of relief. The crisis was under control.  
  
"Thanks, Jo," Josie frowned at her sister's words, not used to hearing Lizzie thank anyone for anything.   
  
"What's going on?"  
  
"It's Hope," Lizzie muttered, shakily taking in a breath. "Raphael doesn't want to be with me because of her."  
  
"I thought Hope was with Landon?"   
  
"She is. I think... that's _not_ the point!" Lizzie waved her hand and started walking around the room in circles. "The point is my dear Jo, that Hope appears to be able to take away everyone from me. Dad and now Raphael? It's like asking me to hate her!"   
  
"Have you... considered she's not doing it on purpose?" Josie said quietly. She knew defending the tribrid from her sister was not the greatest choice she could make but she really doubted Hope was doing all of this just to spite Lizzie. She probably didn't even see it that way.   
  
Lizzie, on the other hand, wasn't even remotely considerate about it. She glared at Josie with a new kind of storm in her eyes and spat out humorless laughter that felt like a slap on Josie's face.   
  
"Are you kidding me right now?! You can't possibly be defending her, not after what she did..."  
  
"What exactly had she done?" Josie couldn't actually believe herself at that moment. Standing up to Lizzie was one thing but actually getting into a fight with her over something as trivial as the blonde's hate for Hope was plain unusual. She suspected it had something to do with Penelope's words. It was almost sickening how easily the brunette could manipulate her life and decisions.   
  
But deep down she knew Penelope was right. Josie couldn't be there for Lizzie all the time, putting her sister's needs above her own. It just wasn't fair both for her and other people. She realized that her devotion to her sister was what drew Penelope away from their relationship.   
  
"What?! You're not being serious. Our father chooses training her over us! He tells her everything, we need to find secret stuff on our own, mainly by accident!" Lizzie's hair started waving in the air dangerously and for a second Josie started to wonder how much magic her sister siphoned from the school before.   
  
"You know how dad is. He sees someone hurting and immediately runs to their rescue. Just like when you have your... attacks, he always drops everything and runs to your side," she said, resting her hands on Lizzie's arms once again. She noticed something flash in the blonde's eyes.  
  
"That doesn't make me hate her less," Lizzie warned her sternly. Her hair stopped flowing around and Josie called it a success once again. "But I guess you're slightly right," her sister let out a deep breath and backed away from her, starting making circles around the kitchen. Taking advantage of the time she was, in the general presence of food, she grabbed a plate with sandwiches from the breakfast left on it and started eating. Her stomach growled with appreciation. "Wow, slow down or you'll choke! Did you eat anything today?"  
  
"Yeah, of course," she lied quickly, taking another bite. "So, tell what's going on with Raphael," Lizzie's features hardened rapidly as she jumped into a long-winded explanation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always thank you for the feedback, I appreciate it a lot, just as the suggestions you leave for how the story should go on. It means the world that you're actually interested in the plot.   
> ~Wefwar


	5. Love doesn't spare anyone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Penelope gives Pedro a hand in winning a girl's heart over and tries to talk to Josie about their friendship.

Penelope sat in the leather chair with her legs swung over one of the armrests, an old looking, worn out book resting in her lap. When she sat down she actually meant to read it, but quickly the task turned out to be impossible. So the lecture simply became a smoke screen. When she had it, nobody tried to talk to her and she could still observe what was going on around her. It was the perfect cover and the fact that she actually got through two pages during the past ten minutes was irrelevant. She had a lot on her mind and as much as she could try, there was no way she could focus on anything else than the problems present at hand.   
  
"Penelope?" she slowly looked up from the yellow pages and frowned at the sight of Pedro standing in front of her with a troubled look on his face. Penelope liked him. He was intelligent and surprisingly mature for his age of eight. The fact that he reminded her of her younger sister was probably a bonus too.   
  
"What's up, little man?" she asked, closing the book and moving to sit up properly. Pedro shifted his weight from one foot to the other and chewed on his lip nervously which only increased Penelope's interest.   
  
"I kinda need your help with somethin'," he muttered underneath his breath. Penelope smiled gently at his shyness.  
  
"Well, what is it?"   
  
"Can we talk somewhere else? I don't wanna others to hear," the boy looked up at her with pleading in his brown eyes and Penelope just nodded, fully aware she would never be able to say no to him even if she wanted.   
  
"Sure, how about the gardens? Everyone should be at lunch around this time," she offered, putting her book in her back and getting up. Pedro took a step back to give her enough room to move away from the chair and nodded his head.  
  
"Yeah, the gardens are cool," they started moving toward the exit.  
  
"Wait, you did have your lunch, right? You shouldn't be walking around on an empty stomach," Penelope suddenly remembered. The fact that she didn't feel like going to lunch didn't mean the kid should suffer as well.   
  
"I ate two hamburgers!" the boy exclaimed happily, his face shining up in a wide smile. "And an apple, 'cause apples are healthy," he added seriously and Penelope laughed whole-heartedly. The boy's presence was a true blessing sometimes.   
  
"That's..." she didn't get to finish. A tall, warm body collided with hers, almost sending her to the floor. From pure instinct, she reached to catch the already falling person to save her from the fate she almost suffered.   
  
Then she was looking straight into a familiar pair of brown eyes.   
  
Penelope closed her mouth quickly, resigning from calling the person who had bumped into her a clumsy idiot, and smiled at Josie. The girl looked up at her with some kind of sympathy before a male voice interrupted their moment.   
  
"Jesus, Josie, are you okay?" Penelope didn't take her eyes off of the twin though, desperate on dragging the moment for as long as she could. A malicious voice at the back of her head started whispering _just friends_ as she briefly took a glance at Josie's lips.   
  
"Hi, JoJo," she whispered but Josie was already trying to get out of her arms, ordering her to let her go. Penelope obeyed and moved away from the girl who tried to make the situation less awkward by introducing them to each other. From up close, Jacob was rather handsome which only made Penelope hate him even more. Why was he even with Josie? Shouldn't he be hanging out with other bloodsucking idiots? Kaleb, for example?   
  
_Just friends_ , the voice reminded her once again.   
  
"Nice to meet you, Pedro, Penelope!" she shook the boy's outstretched hand briefly, still eyeing him carefully.   
  
"You too, Jacob," she didn't get a chance to see him up close yet since he was in Josie's presence all the time, like a lost puppy.  
  
He was tall, taller than Lizzie, with athletic built and long legs. Penelope suspected he was in some kind of a school team before he got turned. Football, probably. His eyes were bright blue, filled with childlike joy and matching his curly, blonde hair that made him look like a little boy. His fair skin was free of any imperfections and his smile was like taken out of a commercial for toothpaste. Penelope felt sick from even looking at his face.  
  
"Yeah, anyway we were on our way to lunch so..." Josie's voice caused her to turn away from the boy. They were going to lunch together?  
  
"You can come with us?" the proposition made her look at Jacob again. He had a small smile on his face and Penelope could see her wasn't faking being friendly. "What? Not a good idea?" she noticed Josie struggling with an answer and decided to step in.  
  
"As nice as that is, we have places to be," she declined politely, grabbing Pedro's hand and walking around them. She moved a little too quickly and her back flamed up in pain. She contained a whine of pain that started building up her throat without slowing down. "Have fun though," she said over her shoulder.   
  
"Is Jacob friends with Josie?" Pedro's questions almost made her trip. She glanced at the boy.  
  
"I don't know," she answered truthfully. "Jacob is new, nobody really is friends with him yet."  
  
"Yeah, but that doesn't matter. I mean, if you meet someone, you know instantly if you want to be friends with them or not, right?"   
  
"It doesn't always work that way," Penelope said as they left the school's building and started walking down the garden's path. The weather was beautiful, with the sun shining down from the clear sky and soft wind shuffling through the plants' leaves. Penelope breathed happily, momentarily closing her eyes to soak in all the feelings. She was brought back to earth by Pedro's voice.   
  
"I knew I wanted to be your friend immediately," he admitted. "The first day you came to school," Penelope lifted her eyelids and looked at the boy with raised brows.   
  
"Really? How come?" Pedro shrugged lightly.   
  
"No idea. I just thought you looked really lonely and decided to cheer you up," they stopped next to one of the benches that were set next to the pavement and sat down on it. Penelope's back protested with pain as she leaned on the backrest. She smiled at Pedro to mask the suffering.   
  
"Yes, I guess I was pretty lonely then..." she said, remembering her first day at school. Josie gave her the tour and charmed her in a way Penelope didn't think was possible. Later she figured out that with the shorter Saltzman twin nothing was impossible. "Good thing I had you!" she added and Pedro giggled loudly, shaking his head.   
  
"No, I was your friend but we know who made you feel welcome here," he said as if it was obvious and Penelope hated how her mind automatically jumped to one person.   
  
"You wanted to talk about something, right?" she asked the boy, desperate to change the subject. Pedro lightened up immediately and nodded his head.   
  
"Yes! I almost forgot! It's kinda a delicate matter so you can't talk about it with anybody else, promise," his serious voice almost made her laugh but she obeyed his order. "So, it's about a girl," Penelope's brows rose at that, her curiosity spiked up.   
  
"Well, do tell then," she encouraged him, leaning forward in her seat. The boy's cheeks reddened as he continued.  
  
"She is also a witch, she's like super cool and her hair is super shiny, and sometimes she's kinda annoying but I really like her," he muttered, his voice becoming quieter with every word. Penelope smiled gently to calm him down.  
  
"And what do you need from me?"   
  
"Help? I mean, you're my friend and since a lot of people like you, I thought you'd know what I should do to get her to like me back," Pedro looked up at her with his eyes full of hope. Penelope let out a heavy breath and pretended to consider his request.   
  
"Okay, I guess I can help you," she answered after a while and Pedro's face lit up as he jumped in her direction, circling her neck with his arms.   
  
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" he squealed into her ear, bouncing happily on the bench. "I knew I could count on you!"   
  
"Easy there, tiger, I didn't do anything yet," Penelope pushed him gently so he could sit back down. "So let me get this straight- there is a girl you really like and you need her to like you back?" Pedro nodded his head eagerly. "Great, what's her name?"  
  
"Alice, like from that old movie," Penelope laughed.  
  
"Great, what does she like?"  
  
"Cookies, collecting daisies and maths," he recited from memory. Penelope admired his commitment.   
  
"Okay, we can work with that," she muttered quietly, wondering what could be done to impress eight years old little girl who liked maths of all things. "How about we bake her some cookies and you give them to her along with a bouquet of flowers?" she proposed and Pedro thought about it for a second before nodding enthusiastically.  
  
"That's a great idea!"   
  
"Great! Then we'll meet in the kitchen after lessons to bake."  
  
"What about the daisies?"  
  
"You'll collect them after the baking. Cool?" Pedro nodded happily, giving her a grin so big it revealed all his teeth.   
  
"One hundred percent cool!" the boy hugged her once again and pressed a kiss on her cheek. "You're the best friend ever!"   
  
"I aim to please," she laughed, hugging him back and then getting up from the bench. Pedro followed her, a huge grin not disappearing from his face for a second.   
  
When they parted, the boy walking away from her in springy steps, that made his locks bounce happily, Penelope started wondering whether what she had promised was a good idea. She couldn't help but think how heartbroken the little boy would be if Alice didn't reciprocate his feelings. And Penelope had had enough of that for a lifetime, she didn't need to see Pedro hurt as she did.   
  
But as much as she wanted to protect the boy from unnecessary suffering, she knew him well enough to be aware of how hard he would take it if she backed out. Pedro was an honorary eight years old and he didn't like breaking promises. Penelope realized that either way, the boy's heart would be broken. By her or the girl.  
  
Her stomach rumbled loudly, reminding her of the lack of nutrition she had provided to it from last night. There was no way she would be able to make it to lunch that was ending in a few minutes, so she set on a less convenient option. She turned on her heel and started moving toward the kitchen's direction, thinking about whether next lessons were even worth attending. It wasn't like anything she would learn there wasn't in the books at the library.  
  
She actually considered running away when a familiar voice sounded behind her. Macy Williams. Penelope made sure to tell her the girl she wasn't ready and didn't want another relationship after Josie but somehow, Macy seemed immune to all the explanations. It was like talking to a brick wall and expecting an answer. Out of other options, Penelope looked at the dark-skinned girl in front of her, trying to smile. Macy seemed oblivious to the fakeness of the gesture and returned it immediately.   
  
"Hi, Penelope! I didn't see you at lunch," Penelope didn't know if the girl meant the comment to sound like an accusation but it did. Not that Penelope actually cared.   
  
"I had a thing that needed taking care of."  
  
"You weren't at breakfast either," Penelope had to restrain herself from accusing the girl of stalking. "Are you okay?"   
  
"I drank a little too much at yesterday's party and overslept," she didn't even know why she made excuses. It wasn't like the girl should be interested in her whereabouts and life choices.  
  
"Oh, right. You disappeared pretty quickly, I didn't get to talk to you about... something important," Penelope noticed the growing nervousness in the girl's voice but paid little attention to it. After her lack of reaction, Macy continued.  "Anyway, I was hoping you had some time now? To talk, I mean?"   
  
"I actually have to go. Classes are starting soon and I need to eat something before that," Penelope said quickly, noticing the occasion to escape. Macy's face fell for a second before the smile reappeared on her lips, twice as wide.   
  
"That's cool! I'll just find you later. Say around eight?"   
  
"We'll see. Bye, Macy!" she rushed toward the kitchen, feeling the girl's eyes following her. She wasn't sure why Macy wouldn't let her be. Sure, they had some fun a few times, especially after Penelope broke up with Josie, but she always made it clear that it wasn't anything serious. The girl must've not understood her intentions.  
  
Penelope entered the kitchen with caution, knowing that the cooks wouldn't approve her presence there and looked around the clean counters. On one of them was a big plate with a few sandwiches stacked on it in a messy manner. Somebody must've eaten from it before but Penelope didn't really care. She was so hungry, she didn't even think about it before digging into the food. She started wondering whether classes were even worth going to.  
Pretending to be sick was out of option. If she did, not only would her parents be informed but the school nurse as well. Then, she would notice the bruises covering her back and raise questions Penelope wouldn't answer. Her second choice, playing truant was also a faulty one since she would have to face her parents as well which wasn't really appealing.   
  
She settled on going to classes, sitting in the back and as always ignoring everything that was happening there, not taking part in the activities. Maybe if she did, she would get the chance to actually talk to Josie.   
  
The hostile behavior that accompanied the other girl after their break up, was still present and Penelope didn't know why. She wasn't an expert, but it wasn't normal or friendly. For a second, she wondered whether there was something from the other night she had forgotten, but there were no gaps in her memory and she was positive that the parts she remembered were perfectly fine.   
Besides, Josie was almost perfectly sober when she agreed to be friends, meaning that the deal wasn't just an alcohol induced fantasy. There must've been some other reason for her strange behavior and Penelope was hell-bent on finding it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always thank you for all the feedback which I appreciate a lot. I'm still open for prompts about how you want to see the story going and what should happen next. Love you all!  
> ~Wefwar


	6. My love is still burning for you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Penelope asks Josie for help and she simply doesn't know how to say no. That's how she ends up baking cookies for Pedro's crush with Penelope right next to her.

After listening to Lizzie's rant about how cruel the world was and how Hope Mikaelson was the reason her life was miserable, Josie assessed the situations as just another Tuesday and went on with her day. Abandoning the unfinished plate of the sandwiches on the counter, she left the kitchen and dragged herself to The History of Magic. It was very Harry Potter, except for the fact it could be really fascinating. This time, though, there was no such luck.   
  
Josie found herself stuck in hour-long torture, listening to the teacher's voice talking about some supernatural-related law. She could see Lizzie nodding off next to her, her eyelids dropping slowly as her head moved closer to the desk's surface. Josie felt tired as well but she didn't want to risk falling asleep in the middle of the class and startling everyone by waking up from a nightmare with a scream. She tried focusing on the teacher's monolog but his every word made her ten times sleepier.   
  
It took only two words spoken by a familiar voice to shake her completely awake.  
  
"Hey, Jojo," for a second she considered not reacting but she knew Penelope wasn't one to just quit. Chances were, the girl would just full on scream her name or kick Lizzie's seat to get her attention if she ignored her for too long. So she glanced at the teacher and after making sure he wasn't looking, turned to Penelope. The girl was sitting right behind her, her bright green eyes staring intensively into Josie's. There was something magnetic in them, something that Josie couldn't fight.   
  
"What do you want?"   
  
"To talk?"  
  
"We did plenty of talking last night," Josie noticed, not a trace of maliciousness in her voice. She was simply stating facts.   
  
"And yet you still avoid me at all cost," she could swear Penelope looked hurt for a second before she hid it behind her trademark smirk. "I want to know why."  
  
"Don't you think that..."  
  
"Ms. Saltzman, Ms. Park, is there something interesting you would like to share with the class?" Josie's head snapped back to the teacher who was staring at them with raised brows. Before she could answer though, Penelope stepped in.   
  
"We were just talking about how incredibly fascinating the law can be if the right person explains it," said the girl with a polite smile. The teacher's face became clear of anger as he returned the gesture and nodded.  
  
"I appreciate your enthusiasm but keep it for the break, okay?" they nodded simultaneously, Josie sending Penelope a stern glare to which the other girl replied with a wink.   
  
Josie turned around before anyone could see her blush and tried to do her best at paying attention when a piece of paper brushed against her ear and landed on her notebook. She rolled her eyes but reached for it, slowly unbending all the creases.  
  
"What are you doing?!" Lizzie whispered next to her and Josie quickly moved the paper out of her reach. Her sister must've woken up when the teacher called their surname.   
  
"Nothing," she muttered hastily, trying to smile as innocently as she could. Lizzie looked at her for a few seconds, her eyes squinting with suspicion before she lied back down.  
  
"Whatever," she said before continuing her nap. Josie breathed out with relief and shifted her attention back to the note.   
  
_Let's meet in the kitchen after the classes, I need your help with something. Please._  
 _~Yours, Penelope_  
  
The signature was really unnecessary, she could recognize that loopy, elegant handwriting everywhere. She moved her chair to be able to talk with Penelope and ask her what she meant by help when the teacher clapped his hands twice, announcing the class was dismissed. When Josie did turn around, she only caught a glance of Penelope's back as she was walking out the door with two girls at her sides. Josie let out an annoyed breath, fully knowing why Penelope played it the way she did. She knew Josie well enough to be aware of the girl's curiosity.   
  
"Hey, earth to Josie, we have another class!" she glanced at her sister who was staring at her with a raised brow and nodded eagerly, pushing the note into the pocket of her hoodie.   
  
"Since when do you care whether we're late or not?"   
  
"I always do! C'mon!" Josie picked up her bag and followed Lizzie to the exit.   
  
***  
  
It was her curiosity and it only that made her go to the kitchen after lessons. She was slowly starting to realize that staying away from Penelope was not an option for her. They were like two magnets, endlessly pushing and pulling at each other, always in some sort of movement. If she wasn't driven to the girl physically, her thoughts made sure to fill that void. Some part of her was always hung up on Penelope and she had yet to figure out why.   
  
But as she was walking down the hall, having left her bag in her and Lizzie's room, she stumbled upon Jacob once again. The boy's face lightened up as his eyes landed on hers, a smile forming on his full lips.   
  
"Josie! Did you take care of the crisis?" he asked as she stopped in front of him. Josie laughed at the question and shook her head lightly.  
  
"It was nothing big. Just my sister being my sister, I guess," she said, moving closer to one of the walls in order to unblock the corridor. Jacob followed right after her. "And how was the rest of the classes?"  
  
"Highly educating," the boy answered shortly. "But I think I was most impressed by the lunch idea. I've never had blood that's not human and I think I can grow used to it."  
  
"That's great since it's against the school's policy for vampires to feed on others," she noticed, offering him a small smile. Jacob pretended to act shocked at her words.  
  
"No way! I was just about to lure you into some dark corner to drink your blood," he said with a crease between his brows. Josie laughed softly and shook her head.   
  
"That truly is terrible news for you then," she replied, glancing at the watch strapped around her wrist. Penelope was probably already waiting for her with whatever she needed her help with.   
  
"Yeah," he stopped for a second, all of sudden looking nervous. "Um, I heard you had your birthday recently. Wanted to wish you a late happy birthday," he said, smiling at her cutely.   
  
"Oh, thank you," Josie really didn't expect that. She started wondering whether Jacob asked for information about her or found out by accident. She wasn't sure which one would be better. "I almost forgot about it," it was a lie. She was sure that the memory of her sixteenth birthday wasn't going away anytime soon.   
  
"No problem. Anyway, I was thinking about..." Josie's phone started ringing furiously in her pocket, cutting off the boy. She shot him an apologetic glance and took the device out of her pocket. A number she had deleted from her phone a long time ago was shining on the screen. She still wasn't sure why she had deleted it. She knew it by heart anyway.   
  
"I'm sorry," she muttered, answering the call. "Yeah?"   
  
"Just checking in if you are going to come," Penelope's voice sounded on the other side.  
  
"Just give me a minute, I'm already on my way," she said and Penelope hung up. Josie looked at Jacob who was still standing in front of her. "I..."  
  
"You have to go, sure, I understand."  
  
"But you wanted to tell me something?" he shook his head, already backing away from her. Josie noticed MG approaching them from the other side of the corridor, probably to talk to Jacob.   
  
"It's nothing important," he assured her, smiling gently. "I'll see you later?"   
  
"Yeah, sure," she said, nodding her head eagerly. Jacob turned on his heel and moved toward MG as Josie made her way to the kitchen.   
  
Penelope's voice reached her ears before she even opened the door. Josie frowned as she heard the other girl's laughter. She didn't know there was going to be someone else with them. Quickly, she reminded herself it didn't matter. It wasn't like she wanted to spend her time with just Penelope.  
  
Josie pushed the door open and stopped almost immediately after entering the kitchen, stunned by the sight in front of her.   
  
Penelope was standing in the middle of the kitchen, her left cheek and arm covered in what Josie could only guess were flour, glaring at Pedro who was laughing happily on the counter. It only took a second for Penelope's facade to break as she started laughing with the boy, moving forward to place her flour-covered hand on his face. Pedro squirmed away from her reach, still giggling. His eyes flew to the doorway where Josie was standing and he waved his hand. Penelope resigned from her attack and turned to see who he was waving at.   
  
"Hi, Josie!" greeted her the boy, giving her a toothy smile. "Penelope said you'd come to help."  
  
"What exactly am I helping in?" she asked, moving further into the room. Penelope moved her hand to wipe the flour off of her cheek and pointed her finger at Pedro.  
  
"Well, we were going to bake cookies for Pedro's crush but since someone decided to throw flour at me, I may not be as willing to do it as before," she threatened. Pedro's eyes opened wider, a look of fright crossing his features.   
  
"I didn't mean to, I'm sorry, I..."  
  
"It's okay, Pedro. Penelope just thinks she's funny that way," Josie calmed him down and the boy glanced at Penelope quickly. She smirked, ruffling his hair with her dirty hand. He yelped but it was too late. His dark brown hair turned greyish from flour almost instantly.   
  
"Ha, I got you back!" Penelope laughed, smiling victoriously. Josie shook her head at the other girl's childish behavior.  
  
"Why did you promise Pedro to bake cookies if you can't even boil water without burning something?" she asked and Penelope rolled her eyes at the comment, pretending to be hurt.   
  
"That's where you come in. Since you're such a great cook, I guessed you wouldn't have any problem with helping a friend out with your talent," Penelope explained, waving her hand toward the counter opposite Pedro, where all the ingredients were arranged in rows. "I even prepared everything for you. Aside from flour, since someone decided to throw it at me," she gave Pedro a pointed look and the boy shrugged.  
  
"You tried to dump it at me first, it was self-defense!" he opposed and Josie laughed at their bickering, unable to stop herself.   
  
"Well, then you prepare the flour, Penelope and Pedro will tell me about this mysterious girl of his," she ordered, turning to the ingredients. The recipe was laying on the counter in front of her and from what she saw it was nothing complicated but she decided to ask Pedro a few questions before even getting to the actual baking. The boy jumped up to the counter, sitting there so he could be at the same height as Josie and started swinging his feet lightly. "So, what's her name?"   
  
"Alice, she's also a witch," said the boy and Josie laughed at his dreamy expression. If eight years olds could fall, Pedro's got it bad.   
  
"From what I can see you really like her?"  
  
"Yeah, she's the coolest girl I've ever seen. Aside from you guys and Lizzie, obviously," he added quickly and Josie heard Penelope groan from where she stood. She sent the shorter girl a warning look. "Like, she's super smart and she loves helping others. I like that because she's great at maths and I'm not so she lets me copy her math assignments." Josie looked at the boy with utter horror.  
  
"Pedro! You can't do that!" she scolded him.  
  
"Good job!" Penelope said at the same time, approaching them with another bag of flour.  
  
"Don't encourage him!"   
  
"I'd never! I'm just saying that..."  
  
"Copying homework is bad and he shouldn't do it ever again?" Josie interrupted her forcibly, sending her a warning glare. Penelope rolled her eyes and nodded.  
  
"That's exactly what I was about to say," she muttered, setting the bag on the counter, away from Pedro. "Now, let's get to the baking, shall we?"   
  
"Are either of you actually going to help me?"  
  
"Of course!" said the duo at the same time, an identical, outraged expression on their faces.   
  
****  
  
Despite Penelope's and Pedro's ensuring, they were both helpless in the kitchen and their help limited only to handing her the right ingredients and bickering with each other. Josie had few occasions to see Penelope interact with children, and she had to say that every time she was stunned, by how easily kids fell in love with the witch. She didn't know whether it was because Penelope had younger siblings on her own and simply knew how to talk to children or because of her charisma and personality. Either way, wherever Penelope went, children present absolutely loved her.   
  
"Okay, now we just cut out the cookies and put them in the oven," she informed her companions, putting the rolling pin aside. Penelope helped Pedro get down from the counter.  
  
"I have the perfect molds," he said, running to one of the drawers and opening it forcefully. The kitchen equipment rattled inside as he started shuffling through it.   
  
"Thank you for helping. I don't know what I'd do if you didn't agree," said Penelope quietly, looking at her gratefully.   
  
"You could've baked them yourself," the shorter girl laughed at that.   
  
"And burn the entire school? I don't think your father would like that."  
  
"What's that saying you like so much... Some people just want to watch the world burn?"  
  
"Maybe the world but not the school," Penelope protested. "I actually like it here," there was some kind of sadness in the girl's voice which origins Josie couldn't really pinpoint.   
  
"Well, I hope Alice will like the cookies. Then Pedro can thank me for help," she said when the boy approached them again, holding a plastic box in his hands. He put it on the counter and lifted the lid, showing at least a dozen different numbers and figures. He picked out five of them and gave it to Josie.   
  
"Those are the best ones," Josie looked at the molds in her hands. The numbers seven and nine, a square, a division sign, and a trapeze.   
  
"Great, let's get to cutting them out then," Penelope exclaimed, taking one of the forms out of Josie's hands. Their fingers brushed lightly, causing Josie's breath to hitch. Penelope didn't seem to notice anything though and started cutting out the cookies.  
  
After twenty-five minutes, Penelope was taking out a scorching hot tray with the baked goods put on it from the oven. The entire kitchen smelled of cinnamon and apples which according to Pedro were Alice's favorite flavors and the smell intensified when Penelope set the tray on previously prepped counter, letting it cool off for a bit.  
  
"How about each one of us tries one to see if they're even good. Not that I'm doubting your baking abilities," the shorter witch said, reaching for a cookie. Pedro smacked away her hands.  
  
"No! The more there are the gooder _..."_  
  
 _"Better,"_ corrected him Penelope. "And I just want to make sure Alice will like them."  
  
"Maybe we'll just take one and share?" proposed Josie. Penelope nodded eagerly and reached for a cookie. Josie didn't have the time to stop her and soon the girl was spitting out curses while waving the burned palm around. Josie grabbed it forcefully and dragged the girl to the faucet, turning the tap on and shoving the hand underneath the cold stream. Penelope moaned lightly when the water touched her palm causing Josie's heart to stop momentarily. The low, raspy sound was connected to things that she shouldn't be thinking about while standing next to her ex and a child.   
  
"Are you okay?" Pedro asked, glancing at Penelope's hand with concern and successfully snapping Josie out of her thoughts. The shorter witch smiled at him.  
  
"Perfectly fine, although it hurts like a bit... really hurts," she corrected herself after Josie's stern glance.   
  
"That's what you get for being reckless," Josie mumbled, looking at the burnt hand. Penelope's fingers were red and she could see blisters forming on them already. It wasn't anything a healing spell couldn't fix but must've been incredibly painful. So Josie turned off the water and closed Penelope's hand in between hers. A familiar power surge appeared as she siphoned the magic needed for the spell and felt it run through her veins. Penelope gasped softly, probably having forgotten about how it felt to be siphoned from. Josie hasn't done it with her for months.   
  
"You don't have to heal me, I'll be fine," Penelope protested, guessing Josie's intentions.   
  
"You probably won't. The blisters would be a huge annoyance, especially since you're right-handed and the pain would get worse with time," Penelope opened her mouth to protest but Josie didn't let her interrupt. "You didn't let me heal the last one. You owe me."  
  
"That's how you see it?" Penelope laughed and winced almost immediately. Josie could only guess it was because of her back.   
  
"Just shut up and let me heal you," Josie grumbled, closing Penelope's palm in between her own. The heat radiating from it, although familiar, was a lot more intense than normal. The cool water didn't help much with tending the wound.   
  
"Pedro, how about you go and collect the daisies while nurse Josie helps me with my battle wounds? The cookies will probably cool off a little in the meantime," Penelope proposed before Josie cast the right spell. Pedro looked at them uncertainly, his brown eyes shifting from one girl to the other.   
  
"I dunno, don't you want me to hold your other hand in case you get scared? I know the healing hurts more than the hurting," he said and Josie smiled at his concern for the older witch.   
  
"I think I'm gonna be okay, but thanks for the proposition," assured him, Penelope, gently. "We can't forget about the main focus so go, collect the flowers for your girl!" Pedro glanced at her one last time before giving up and running out of the kitchen. After making sure he was gone, Penelope waved her uninjured hand and closed the door behind him, looking at surprised Josie with a serious expression.   
  
"We need to talk."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plot may seem a little slow now, I know and can only ask for your patience. The idea for the story is still developing, I'm literally making this all up as I go, so thank you for the understanding. Thank you and love you a lot!   
> ~Wefwar


	7. The talk and afterparty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Penelope and Josie reach some kind of agreement and Pedro gets the girl.

"We need to talk," Penelope said before she could change her mind, noticing the familiar wrinkle form in between the other girl's brows.   
  
"What would we need to talk about?" Josie asked her, letting go of her hand and crossing her arms over her chest.   
  
"About how you're still avoiding me?" Penelope shot back. "We're supposed to be friends."  
  
"What?" Josie's face scrunched in confusion and Penelope rose her eyebrows. "Would I be here if I was trying to avoid you? Helping you?"  
  
"You're not helping me, you're helping Pedro. And we both know that your altruistic nature wouldn't allow you to say no."  
  
"Pedro didn't ask me to come here. You did. And I didn't know what you needed until half an hour ago," noticed Josie, her voice growing more impatient with every word. "What's your problem, Penelope?"  
  
"My problem is that you try not to talk to me unless it's completely necessary!"  
  
"Just because we're friends doesn't mean we have to talk every day!"   
  
"You know that's not what I mean," Penelope gritted her teeth when Josie once again focused on her hurt hand. Her entire palm felt as if a bunch of needles was endlessly piercing into her skin, spreading the pain not only across her burnt fingers but up her wrist and arm. But it was nothing compared to the torments her heart was going through. "Why are you avoiding me? And don't say you aren't, I know you," she noticed the hesitation on Josie's face as she caressed her palm, fingers cold against her skin.   
  
"Let me heal you and then we'll talk, okay?" Penelope smiled at the concern in Josie's voice. One which she didn't believe she could see aimed at herself ever again. "Ready?"   
  
"Born ready."  
  
"Tractare," whispered Josie softly and Penelope gritted her teeth when pain shook her entire frame. The taller witch only grasped her hand tighter, preventing her from yanking it back and closed her eyes, focusing on casting the spell. Penelope's mind went blank as she let out a stifled groan of pain and clenched her other hand into a fist.   
  
The pain could've lasted for seconds, minutes or hours, Penelope couldn't really tell. All she knew was that at the end of the suffering when she opened her eyes, she was met with a familiar, concerned look.  
  
"Thank you," Penelope muttered as Josie let go of her hand and offered her a small smile.   
  
"No problem. Just be careful next time," she required. Penelope smirked at her.  
  
"Can't promise you that," she stopped for a second, trying to find the right words. But Josie spoke first.   
  
"About the avoiding-you part- you're right, I've been doing that for the past day. It's just... you were drunk yesterday. I didn't know which part was your drunken speech and which was true. And I said I wanted to be your friend because you were so vulnerable and..."  
  
"I meant every word I said yesterday," Penelope interrupted her. "The only question is did you?" she could see the other witch thinking about what to do and say next. It took Josie two of Penelope's heartbeats to respond.   
  
"I did. Yes," Penelope let out the breath she was holding and smiled at the girl.   
  
"You know that means not calling me she-who-shall-not-be-named? Or Satan?"  
  
"How do you know that?" Penelope looked at the girl with raised brows.   
  
"I have ears everywhere, remember? And it's not like you've tried to hide it."  
  
"That's fair, I guess. So it's settled, no name-calling," Penelope started laughing at the statement. "What?"  
  
"Sounds like we're in kindergarten or something."  
  
"Kinda, yeah," Josie went quiet for a minute and Penelope could see the wheels in her head working, processing what had just happened. She understood her confusion. For a year they went from strangers to friends to lovers to enemies to friends. It was a true rollercoaster but she didn't mind. Josie was worth the ride. "You need to promise me one thing though," the serious tone of Josie's voice immediately caused the laughter to die in her throat. She looked at the girl carefully.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"That friends are all we're going to be," each word sunk into her heart like a sharp knife but she didn't say anything. Deep down, she was aware that there was no arguing with what Josie was saying. After how she had treated her, despite her best intentions, she was surprised Josie even wanted to try to be friends. "I won't handle another heartbreak because of you, Penelope," the taller girl in a broken tone and Penelope had to stop herself from closing the space between them and hugging the shaking girl. Instead, she nodded her head slowly and agreed.  
  
"Of course, Jojo. I'd..." the words didn't leave her mouth. She couldn't say she'd never hurt Josie. She had already done it and there was no way she could forget the broken expression after she told Josie they were over. It still hunted her in her dreams. "I won't hurt you ever again."  
  
"Don't make promises you can't keep," Josie said slowly, her doe eyes shining from the tears that had gathered in them. "I know you love making the impossible happen but that's not something you can manipulate."  
  
"I probably shouldn't be surprised by how low you think of me," Penelope muttered slowly, biting the inside of her cheek. Just because she shouldn't be surprised didn't mean it didn't hurt like hell. "But I can promise you that I'll never do something I will not have your consent to do. Does that sound good?" Josie nodded her head slowly and eventually sent her way a shy smile.   
  
"It sounds great," she said as the doors opened and Pedro stepped inside with a flourish. His hands were full of daisies and Penelope started wondering whether he picked up all the flowers he could find in the garden. If so, Alaric wouldn't be happy.   
  
"I have them!" he screamed happily, dropping all his loot on one of the counters. Josie moved away from the tap and walked over to him, putting a hand on the boy's head.   
  
"They are so beautiful, I'm sure Alice will love them," she cooed, bending over the flowers and inspecting them closely. Penelope took the chance to steal one of the cookies from the tray. But before she could actually take a bite, slender fingers wrapped around her fingers as a small hand pried the cookie from between her digits. Penelope groaned at Josie's and Pedro's similar scolding looks.   
  
"I almost died while making them, can't I try at least one?"  
  
"No! They're for Alice!" reminded her Pedro, putting the cookie back on the tray. Penelope pouted momentarily and glanced helplessly at Josie.  
  
"Don't look at me, he's the boss, I'm just baking," the taller girl said, raising her hands.  
  
"Traitor!" Penelope mouthed in her direction and Josie just giggled.   
  
Both girls couldn't believe or accept just how easy it all seemed to be.   
  
                                                                                                                                                      ***  
  
"I heard you and Josie decided to be friends again," Penelope raised her eyes from the text she was typing and looked at the girl in front of her. Macy looked breathtaking in the dying light of the sun that was slowly moving to hide completely behind the trees. Her dark-shaded skin gleamed happily and the remains of the sunlight were jumping in her dark hair like sparks. Penelope had to admit that the girl was gorgeous.   
  
"Yeah, I guess word spreads fast," she muttered, hitting sent on the screen and locking her phone.   
  
"You better wait until Lizzie hears about it. She'll be thrilled," Macy laughed softly, sitting next to her on the bench but keeping a small distance between them. Penelope scrunched her face at the mention of the other half of the Saltzman twins and shrugged.   
  
"Oh, I'm sure she will. I'm just hoping she won't take it out on Josie," Penelope didn't notice Macy's face fall but the air around them thickened slightly.   
  
"Maybe it won't be that bad. You know, since you're just friends and not dating again, she may be able to swallow it," she knew what Macy was doing. She was a master of manipulating people, after all, she could see when someone was trying to manipulate her.   
  
"Maybe," she answered reluctantly, not looking at the other girl but at sunset. It was magnificent but Penelope could easily think of at least one thing/person on the planet that could dim its beauty. And it wasn't the one next to her.   
  
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Macy said, sliding toward her on the bench. Their thigs and arms brushed together, goosebumps appearing on Penelope's skin. She didn't have enough space to move away, she was already at the end of the bench.   
  
"I guess."  
  
"There is some kind of magnetism in the view. Like you can't tear your eyes away, afraid that it's not going to be there anymore when you look again," Penelope raised her brows at the girl's words and slowly turned to glance at her.   
  
"That's really poetic," she noticed and Macy smiled cheekily.   
  
"I guess I have my moments," the vampire said, shrugging. "It's not hard to be poetic with a view as breathtaking as this one in front of you," Penelope had to agree, even though she had a different kind of view in her mind. She glanced at her phone and noticed a couple of unanswered messages on the screen. Her friends were wondering where she was.   
  
"It's been great, chatting with you, but I need to go," a shade appeared on Macy's face as Penelope got up and picked up her bag from the pavement.   
  
"But..."  
  
"I'll see you tomorrow!" she said, already moving toward the school building. Macy didn't follow her, although she easily could, and Penelope was glad. She needed the time to digest all the interactions of the day.  
  
Firstly, she spent an hour on baking cookies for Pedro's crush with Josie, whom she kissed less than a day ago.  
  
Secondly, the cookies turned out to be a great success and Alice was smitten by Pedro who came running to her right after the interaction with his classmate.   
  
Thirdly, Josie Saltzman, her ex-girlfriend whose heart she had broken, agreed to be her friend once again, while making sure there'd be nothing more between them.  
  
Fourthly, Penelope promised to never hurt her again which she made her a lier but hey, not really a surprise.  
  
It was almost too much to handle but she wasn't going to break because of it. She'd had worse.   
  
She kept trying to convince herself that being friends with Josie would be better than being treated as an enemy, but she didn't suspect it to hurt as much as it did. Having Josie spit at her every time they saw each other might've been better than friend zone, which she had inflicted upon herself. Once again, she was the only one to blame for her miserable life.   
  
But Penelope knew she had to keep her emotions in check. She was still leaving in more than a month and she couldn't allow herself to get tangled up in a relationship that was destined to fail. She was too smart for that.  
  
 ~~(except she wasn't)~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The updates may be a little less frequent since the end of the school year is approaching and my grades are begging to be picked up from their unsurprisingly low level. Anyway, thank you all for sharing your thoughts and leaving kudos, they are a great motivation! Sorry for the delay and love all of you!  
> ~Wefwar


	8. Put the pieces back together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josie gets into a fight with Lizzie and has something resembling a panic attack. As always, Penelope's there to pick up the pieces and put them back together.

Josie knew something was wrong when Lizzie didn't even look at her as she opened the door to their bedroom. The blonde was in her bed, a notebook lying in her lap and her face scrunched in concentration, brows knitted together above her blue eyes. Josie put down her bag and stood in the middle of the room, wondering what to do. She had no idea what could get her sister in such a foul mood since it definitely wasn't the afternoon's incident with Rafael, but she was sure about one thing. An angry Lizzie was a ticking bomb.   
  
"Hi, Lizz," she said slowly, moving to stand in front of her sister. The pen in the blonde's hand stilled as she slowly looked up from the notebook, a cold expression on her face.  
  
"Hello," Josie frowned at the short answer.  
  
"Are you okay?"  
  
"Fine."  
  
"You don't sound fine," Josie sat down on the bed next to her twin, glancing at the notebook Lizzie had opened. A beautiful, lively sketch of their mother was looking at them from the paper, her eyes filled with adoration. Josie saw that soft expression on Caroline's face a lot, especially when they were younger. "I miss her too," she said, putting a hand on Lizzie's knee. Her sister squirmed away from her touch and shot her an angry glare.   
  
"Don't try it. Your secret's out, I know you're back together with the she-devil and talking about mom's absence is not going to make me forget," the blonde spat out and Josie gasped loudly, staring at her with confusion.   
  
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Lizzie scoffed and closed the notebook, putting it on the bed next to her and turning to face Josie.   
  
"What am I talking about? I'm talking about how you left with her and not Jacob last night! I'm talking about how you lied to me about it and now, you're apparently still trying to make an idiot out of me!" her sister growled. Josie let out a deep breath to calm herself and bit her lip. What was she thinking? Hoping she could keep a secret from Lizzie who may have not been the best at noticing things but was great at listening to rumors. It was like believing she would make peace with Hope.   
  
"Listen, Lizzie, I was going to leave the party with Jacob last night, okay? I wanted to but at the last moment I decided it wasn't a good idea and left him," she admitted, clenching her palms into fists. She had no idea why Jacob was still talking to him after how she treated him the night before. She would have to apologize to him. "But I didn't want to go back to our room, so I decided to go to the roof. That's where I met Penelope. And she was so wasted, I couldn't just leave her there, I took her to her room and..." she stopped talking, unsure what to say. Even she wasn't certain why she had stayed with Penelope. She settled on the easiest explanation. "...and it was late and I didn't want to wake you up. So I stayed."   
  
"And nothing happened between you two?" her sister asked, still looking unconvinced. Josie remembered the flood of warmth as Penelope's hands roamed her body and hot lips moving against her. She quickly shook her head.  
  
"Of course not. I'm not going to let her destroy my life again," she said resolutely, hoping that she could convince herself. Lizzie visibly relaxed and nodded her head.   
  
"That's good. It'd kill me to see you hurting like that again," Penelope's voice sounded in Josie's head, once again telling her how selfish Lizzie was. She muted it out and smiled at her sister.   
  
"It won't happen, I promise," she wondered whether she should tell Lizzie about the plan to rebuild her friendship with Penelope. It would probably cause another argument, maybe even some magic but in the end, it would definitely be far better than her finding out the truth from other people as she did before. Josie took a deep breath and spoke. "Actually, I might've found a way to stop her from tormenting us," Lizzie glanced up at her with a disapproving look on her face.  
  
"Murder is still illegal, sadly," she noticed and Josie shook her head, swallowing with difficulty. "But I have a feeling that's not what you're talking about."  
  
"I agreed to be friends with her," she blurted out on one breath, bracing herself for the storm. Lizzie stopped smiling in a second, staring at her with eyes and mouth wide open. It took her two minutes to be able to speak again.  
  
"You did what?!" she screeched, making Josie flinch. "She forced you into it, didn't she? I'm going to her right now and telling her..." the blonde swiftly got up from the bed and started moving to the door. Josie caught her wrist and yanked her back, stopping her from leaving the room.   
  
"I came out with the initiative, okay?" she said quickly, holding up her hands in a gesture of defeat. Lizzie was staring at her with disbelief in her eyes.  
  
"You're joking, right? Did you forget all those nights you spent crying because she broke your heart? All those times you saw her in the hall and couldn't normally function for the rest of the day?"   
  
"I didn't, of course not!" Josie stopped her sister's rant, feeling anger rise in her. She didn't need a reminder of all the sad moments she had to go through because of Penelope.   
  
"Then why did you agree to it? I thought you were supposed to forget about her, move on!"  
  
"You sure think a lot about what I should do but not what I want or need!" Josie snapped. Lizzie looked at her with surprise, not used to getting any kind of resistance or argument from Josie. But the brunette didn't care about her shocked expression. She had more to say. "Did you think about me while having the time of your life with Rafael? No, you didn't even notice I was gone! While I was being buried alive by our biological mother!" Lizzie backed away from her, looking as if someone had slapped her. Josie knew why. Because all she was saying was true and it hurt her sister.   
  
"I..."  
  
"Don't, Lizzie," she said, seeing that the blonde didn't even know what to say. "I'll sleep somewhere else tonight," Josie decided all of sudden. Before she could fully consider her choice, she was already walking out of their bedroom, leaving a shocked Lizzie behind.   
  
After the door closed behind her, she started rapidly making her way in any direction, as far away from her twin as she could. It was getting harder for her to breathe with every step, the room swimming around her as she sped up, almost running down the halls. The floor underneath her feet was creaking loudly in the dead of the night, the sound ringing endlessly in her ears. She started making her way to the stairs, desperate to get out of the building. She felt as if the walls commenced closing in on her, causing her breath to become even more labored. The world in front of her eyes became foggy, black spots appearing in her sight.   
  
One foot after the other, she dragged herself up the stairs, holding onto the railing for her dear life. It was like her entire body was starting to react to all the emotions she had suffered for the day and decided to rebel against it.  
  
With the feeling of dizziness slowly taking over her, she found it impossible to take the last step and her foot missed the stair. She started falling face first but she didn't even try to save herself from the fall. There was no point. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the fall.  
  
It never came.  
  
An invisible force caught her, yanking her back and gently setting her on the wooden floor at the top of the stairs. Josie couldn't bring herself to look up at her savor, too busy with trying to steady her breathing. She fell to her knees, the feeling of suffocation taking over her. The floor next to her creaked loudly as the other person kneeled next to her, a pair of slender arms wrapping around her in a familiar side-hug.  
  
"Josie, Jojo, are you okay?" Penelope's calm voice ripped through her panicking mind like a knife. "Breath with me, come on, you're perfectly fine," a warm palm started caressing the small of her back in calming strokes and she leaned into the warm body next to her, breathing in the familiar scent of Penelope's ridiculously expensive perfume. She tried to match the other girl's steady breathing with her own, closing her eyes tightly and clawing her fingers into Penelope's t-shirt. She pulled the girl closer, her tears staining the shorter witch's clothes.   
  
It took her at least five minutes to calm down enough to lift her eyelids and look at Penelope's worried face. It was void of make-up, grey circles easily visible underneath her vibrant, green eyes. The familiarity of them was what made Josie's breath steady completely and the tears to stop flowing. Penelope moved slightly backward, still not fully letting go of the shaken girl and raised her brows.  
  
"What happened? It looked like a panic attack," Penelope's voice was soothing in a way. Josie gritted her teeth and gulped loudly, tightening her grip around the brunette's neck in case she wanted to move away. "You're okay now, I'm not going anywhere, okay? Just talk to me, what happened?"  
  
"I got into a fight with Lizzie," she admitted after a while, her voice still shaking slightly. Penelope's face hardened momentarily, her features overtaken by disgust at the mention of the other Saltzman twin. Josie didn't even try to scold her for it, knowing it wouldn't get her anywhere. She also decided not to tell Penelope  _why_ she and Lizzie got into a fight, there was no need for that. "And I kind of stormed out in the middle. Maybe I should just go and apologize to her? She might fo..."  
  
"Absolutely not," Josie frowned at Penelope's stern voice. "After what I have just seen here, I'm not letting you immediately go back to Lizzie. You need to sleep, let your mind reset. I know I won't be able to stop you from apologizing to her, but the least you can do is wait till tomorrow," Josie wanted to protest, she really did, but Penelope was warm and still holding her and she was so incredibly tired she could barely see clearly. She wasn't in good shape and Lizzie probably went to sleep anyway.   
  
"I don't have anywhere to sleep..." she protested weakly when Penelope tried to make her stand up. Josie's legs were like made out of cotton, unable to keep her weight up. She swung, almost collapsing back to the ground when Penelope caught her once more, letting her lean on herself.   
  
"You can nap in my room, I'll take the floor or something," they started moving toward the door in front of them and Josie frowned. Subconsciously, in the middle of some kind of a panic attack, she was moving toward Penelope's room. She decided not to think about it too much.   
  
"I can't make you do that."  
  
"Then we'll both sleep in the bed, I don't mind as long as you don't too," Penelope shrugged and pushed the door open with her left hand, the right one still occupied with keeping Josie upwards by her waist.   
  
"I don't mind, but I probably won't be able to sleep anyway," she muttered, keeping herself from whining when Penelope left her side to throw back the covers on the bed. Josie wobbly made her way toward it, sitting down on the edge and blinking a few times. Her vision was still blurry from the tears, causing her head to hurt.   
  
"Well, we can always talk about your argument with Lizzie?" Penelope offered, plopping down next to her and making the mattress wobble slightly.   
  
"Or we can talk about why you were out of your room that late?"  
  
"I wasn't, really. I was reading before sleep when I heard a loud thud in front of my door. Went to check it out," the girl explained, shrugging.  
  
"I'm sorry. I have no idea why I came here."   
  
"You know I'm not mad," noticed Penelope. "Pedro said Alice liked the cookies a lot, kissed him on the cheek for bringing them," Josie smiled at that. She felt like it was ages ago when she was standing in the middle of the kitchen, the scent of cinnamon and Penelope's perfume surrounding her.   
  
"That's great, I hope I'll get to meet her someday."  
  
"I do too, she sounds like a real sweetheart from what Pedro had told me," admitted Penelope. "You're sure you don't want to lay down? You look exhausted," and exhausted Josie felt. Her entire body was heavy from fatigue and her eyelids were constantly fighting with gravity. Penelope's warm and soft bed along with her soothing voice weren't helping either. The only thing keeping her awake was the thought of possible nightmares.   
  
"I... can try," she finally said, nodding her head. She reached down to take off her shoes and felt the mattress move next to her. Penelope got up, dragging a blanket behind herself and set it on the floor, previously folding it in half. She picked up a pillow from the bed and tossed it onto her make-shift bedding. "There is no way you'll be comfortable on that," Josie found herself saying. The shorter girl glanced up with a shrug.   
  
"I've slept on worse."  
  
"I can't throw you out of your own bed, we can share," Josie insisted, moving back on the mattress. She couldn't help but notice how the tables have turned.   
  
"Are you sure? The bed is too small to keep a distance..." the uncertain look on Penelope's face was adorable in Josie's eyes, her tired mind not being able to fight the attraction she felt for the brunette.   
  
"I'm sure," she answered as calmly as she could. Penelope gazed at her one last time before getting up from her knees where she was already trying to settle on the floor and sliding under the covers. Their hands touched but neither moved away. Josie focused on the ceiling above them, feeling the warmth of Penelope's body next to her. She wasn't sure what made her fall asleep so quickly. Whether it was her tiredness, Penelope's scent surrounding her or something completely else when she finally closed her eyes, she found herself drifting away almost immediately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thank you to all of you for waiting for so long, those of you who are still here are true angels. Also, HAPPY PRIDE because June is finally here and even though I'm still in the closet, I couldn't have been happier! Hope y'all out there are living your best lives and once again thank you!  
> ~Wefwar

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Hope you liked it, and if you did, comment and leave kudos!


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